Summer is approaching and Pitta dosha is emerging. My personal plan is to keep it cool, avoid the hot sun at noontime and enjoy foods and recipes that pacify Pitta dosha.

Pitta dosha represents the fire element and when we’re exposed to more heat through our diet, the sun or our activities the body’s own heat increases. Enter irritation, anger, ulcers, skin rashes, heartburn and burning sensations.

So what foods should one eat when Pitta dosha emerges?

Favor cooling, sweet, bitter and astringent foods. Just say no to spicy, salty, pungent, sour and fermented foods.

Get started with these snack ideas and recipes.

1. Ripe, sweet mango.

Sweet fruits are perfect for pitta.

2. Myra Lewin’s Ayurvedic Sweet Potato Snack

Pacifies vata and pitta.

3. Ecstatic Rose Petal Drink

Grab those wild rose petals while you can. Rose is good for pitta and vata.

4. Vanilla Wafers

Trader Joe’s makes delish wafers, heavy on the vanilla flavor which is nice for Pitta.

5. Coconut Water

Cooling and easily accessible at your local grocer.

6. Cucumber Slices

Cooling and yummy.

7. Pitta Tea Lassi

Dairy pacifies pitta.

8. Sunflower Seed Butter On Whole Wheat Crackers

Both sunflower seeds and wheat pacify pitta dosha.

9. Cream Cheese Celery Stalks

Sprinkle with ground cumin and coriander.
All ingredients cool pitta.

10. Warm Milk With Ghee + Spices.

Good for vata and pitta.
Choose dairy or non-dairy and keep it cool with ghee.
Spices increase digestive power.

11. Grape Juice With Sprinkle Of Fennel Powder

Keeps it cool.

12. Ash Gourd Juice

Watch out vata. You’ll be so cool.

13. Lime-Mint Cooler

14. Minted Fruit Salad

Chiffonade of mind tossed into a salad of grapes and berries refreshes the palette.

15. Coconut Fruit Salad

For best flavor grate fresh coconut if you can find it, then toss into your fruit salad.

16. Cilantro-fy Your Hummus

Mix a handful of chopped cilantro into your hummus.
Cilantro is cooling.

17. Maple-Limeade

Maple is a great sweetener for pitta. Lime is okay in moderation.

18. Avocado Dip

Mash an avocado or two. Add a touch of lime juice and cilantro.
You’re good to go.

19. Apple Pie

Sweet and all-american.

20. Artichoke Hearts

Steamed, these are simple and delicious.

21. Fresh Sweet Apricots

22. Fresh Figs

23. Melons

Eat melons by themselves. Combined with other foods, melons don’t digest well.

24. Olive Tapenade On Toast

Choose black olives for cooling pitta dosha. Avoid garlic. Yum.

25. Organic Rose Petal Spread

A product of Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.
Perfect for toast, crackers.

Want more ideas?

Here’s a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid for balancing Pitta.

Photo: Morguefile.com